Birth Issues and Osteopathy

The delivery of our babies is often a memorable time. The birthing process itself is filled with many challenges to navigate and sometimes the process is amazing and sometimes it doesn’t quite go to plan for either mum or baby.

Osteopaths can gently assess both baby and mum to check if their body mechanics and function are in check.At Stillpoint Osteopaths we see the assessment of babies as a very important role of an osteopath. When working with babies and children this is when preventative medicine can be practiced, and a child’s life could possibly be influenced for the better.

Early influences on our bodies can affect our body function. Not just through labour, but also accidents and traumas experienced through life. If you experienced a 48-hour labour before birth, enduring many strong forces during that time, the effects on your body may be remarkably different to one whose baby popped out relatively easily in an hour. In addition, if a baby has required instrumentation such as forceps to help them come into the world, they will have had to adapt to forces a naturally-delivered baby would not have. Some babies need oxygen – others don’t, some presented differently in mums’ tummy so different parts of the head or face bore the forces of contractions when others didn’t. Some have the cord tight around their neck or come with an arm above their head making things just that bit trickier. Many a mum and baby have been saved by caesarean section and this too has its influences on us and baby.

Our body has a great mechanism to correct itself if it can overcome the forces involved but other times it just compensates to the best of its ability. These compensations are an expression of health. If your body couldn’t do this then your internal equilibrium would be altered, and things would go downhill.However with gentle assessment and treatment its possible that your osteopath could help you and your baby find that internal balance and better movement.

All Stillpoint Osteopaths are experienced in treating infants presenting with a wide range of birth-related issues. If you have any questions, give us a call and an osteopath will be happy to have a chat with you.